Down syndrome teen girl was deleted from her school's cheerleading photo. Photo / Facebook
Down syndrome teen girl was deleted from her school's cheerleading photo. Photo / Facebook
A teenager with Down syndrome was edited out of her school's cheerleading photo, much to the disgust of her family and community.
Morgyn Arnold attends Shoreline Junior High in Utah and was disappointed to be left out of the official photo in the school's yearbook, which, ironically enough, included thisstatement on its front page: "I don't care how insignificant you think you are, one person can absolutely make a difference."
In a Facebook post, Morgyn's sister, Jordyn Poll, expressed her anger at the school's decision to exclude her from the photo.
"It's the SAME cheer team – SAME girls, SAME photo shoot, SAME poses, but one included all team members and one did not," she wrote.
"Unfortunately, the first one was posted on the school's social accounts and in the school yearbook. Additionally, Morgyn's name wasn't even mentioned as a part of the team. She wasn't included," Jordyn added.
Morgyn Arnold featured in one of two photographs with her Shoreline Junior High cheerleading squad. Photo / Facebook
The sister also described how Morgyn puts a huge amount of effort into her cheerleading practice, only to be excluded by school officials.
"She spent hours learning dances, showing up to games, and cheering on her school and friends but was left out … A choice was made on which photo to submit, a choice made MULTIPLE times and a choice that excluded Morgyn EVERY. SINGLE. TIME," she wrote.
In the one photograph Morgyn was featured in, the teen is not wearing the same uniform as the other teammates, nor holding pom poms.
"This is the second time in three years that sweet Morgyn has been left out of the yearbook. Two years ago they didn't even include her in the class list," her sister added.
"We contacted the school administration this year, and the answer we got was as ignorant as the photo. To the Shoreline Junior administrator who blatantly said they didn't know what we were expecting of them and there was nothing they could do, I hope you can take this away – you can be better and I expect you to be better," she added.
In a since-deleted Facebook post, school officials wrote that they were "continuing to look at what has occurred and why it occurred".
"We will continue to look at our processes to ensure this does not happen again," the post originally read.
It is not known why that post has since been deleted.
The teen's family and friends are calling on the school to take further action, including reprinting the yearbook to include Morgyn's cheerleading photo.
They also want those responsible for the incident to resign.
"I would like to see a photo of all the administrators with RESIGNED next to each name. Shameful behaviour. Repugnant," one person said.
